• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.53 no.6
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• pp.1183-1200
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• 2015

Reinforcement corrosion can cause serious safety deterioration to aging concrete structures exposed in aggressive environments. This paper presents an approach for reliability analyses of deteriorating reinforced concrete structures affected by reinforcement corrosion on the basis of the representative symptoms identified during the deterioration process. The concrete cracking growth and rebar bond strength evolution due to reinforcement corrosion are chosen as key symptoms for the performance deterioration of concrete structures. The crack width at concrete cover surface largely depends on the corrosion penetration of rebar due to the expansive rust layer at the bond interface generated by reinforcement corrosion. The bond strength of rebar in the concrete correlates well with concrete crack width and decays steadily with crack width growth. The estimates of cracking development and bond strength deterioration are examined by experimental data available from various sources, and then matched with symptom-based lifetime Weibull model. The symptom reliability and remaining useful life are predicted from the predictive lifetime Weibull model for deteriorating concrete structures. Finally, a numerical example is provided to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed approach for forecasting the performance of concrete structures subject to reinforcement corrosion. The results show that the corrosion rate has significant impact on the reliability associated with serviceability and load bearing capacity of reinforced concrete structures during their service life.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.26 no.4A
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• pp.795-808
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• 2006

In this paper, an analytical method which can predict the occurrence of plastic shrinkage cracking on concrete slabs with sequential placement is proposed on the basis of the numerical model introduced in the previous study. The influence of many design variables on plastic shrinkage cracking such as the number of layers and the time interval between layers is quantitatively analyzed through parametric studies using the analytical method. In advance, two equations are introduced to take into account the effect of sequential placement on the plastic shrinkage cracking of concrete slab; The first one is to calculate the time at which the surface of concrete slab begins to dry, and the second one is to determine the critical time interval to prevent the surface drying of previously placed concrete layers. The timing of curing and the sequence of concrete placement, which are important for the prevention of plastic shrinkage cracking, can be effectively planned using the introduced both equations without any rigorous analysis.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.459-473
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• 2011

The study of the early age concrete properties is becoming more important, as the thermal effects and the shrinkage, even in the first hours, could generate cracks, increasing the permeability of the structure and being able to induce problems of durability and functionality in the same ones. The detailed study of the stresses development during the construction process can be decisive to keep low the cracking levels. In this work a computational model, based on the finite element method, was implemented to simulate the early age concrete behavior and, specially, the evaluation of the cracking risk. The finite element analysis encloses the computational modeling of the following phenomena: chemical, thermal, moisture diffusion and mechanical which occur at the first days after the concrete cast. The developed software results were compared with experimental values found in the literature, demonstrating an excellent approach for all the implemented analysis.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.1 no.4
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• pp.371-388
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• 2004

Our objective is to model static multi-cracking processes in concrete. The explicit dynamic relaxation (DR) method, which gives the solutions of non-linear static problems on the basis of the steady-state conditions of a critically damped explicit transient solution, is chosen to deal with the high geometric and material non-linearities stemming from such a complex fracture problem. One of the common difficulties of the DR method is its slow convergence rate when non-monotonic spectral response is involved. A modified concept that is distinct from the standard DR method is introduced to tackle this problem. The methodology is validated against the stable three point bending test on notched concrete beams of different sizes. The simulations accurately predict the experimental load-displacement curves. The size effect is caught naturally as a result of the calculation. Micro-cracking and non-uniform crack propagation across the fracture surface also come out directly from the 3D simulations.

• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.251-258
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• 2003

The early -age behavior of base restrained reinforced concrete (RC) walls is analyzed using a three-dimensional finite element method in this study. After calculating the temperature and internal relative humidity variations of an RC wall, determination of stresses due to thermal gradients, differential drying shrinkage, and average drying shrinkage is followed, and the relative contribution of these three stress components to the total stress is compared. The mechanical properties of early-age concrete, determined from many experimental studies, are taken into consideration, and a discrete reinforcing steel derived using the equivalent nodal force concept is also used to simulate the cracking behavior of RC walls. In advance, to Predict the crack spacing and maximum crack width in a base restrained RC wall, an analytical model which can simulate the post-cracking behavior of an RC tension member is introduced on the basis of the energy equilibrium before and after cracking of concrete.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.863-878
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• 2004

Steel corrosion in reinforced concrete structures leads to concrete cover cracking, reduction of bond strength, and reduction of steel cross section. Among theses consequences mentioned, reduction of bond strength between reinforcement and concrete is of great importance to study the behaviour of RC members with corroded reinforcement. In this paper, firstly, an analytical model based on smeared cracking and average stress-strain relationship of concrete in tension is proposed to evaluate the maximum bursting pressure development in the cover concrete for noncorroded bar. Secondly, the internal pressure caused by the expansion of the corrosion products is evaluated by treating the cracked concrete as an orthotropic material. Finally, bond strength for corroded reinforcing bar is calculated and compared with test results.

• Journal of computational fluids engineering
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.43-49
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• 2016

Thermal cracking is commonly modeled as plug flow reaction, neglecting the lateral gradients present. In this paper, 2-dimensional computational fluid dynamics including turbulence model and molecular reaction scheme are carried out. This simulation is solved by means of coupled implicit scheme for stable convergence of solution. The reactor is modeled as an isothermal tube, whose length is 1.2 m and radius is 0.01 m, respectively. At first, The radial profile of velocity and temperature at each point are predicted in its condition. Then the bulk temperature and conversion curve along the axial direction are compared with other published data to identify the reason why discussed variations of properties are important to product yield. Finally, defining a new non-dimensional number, Effect of interaction with turbulence, heat transfer and chemical reaction are discussed for design of thermal cracking furnace.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.319-341
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• 2009

A new formulation based on lumped plasticity and inelastic hinges is presented in this paper for nonlinear analysis of Reinforced Concrete (RC) frame structures. Inelastic hinge behaviour is described using the principles of Continuum Damage Mechanics (CDM). Member formulation contains provisions to model stiffness degradation due to cracking of concrete and yielding of reinforcing steel. Depending on its nature, cracking is classified as concentrated or distributed. Concentrated cracking is accounted through a damage variable and its growth is defined based on strain energy principles. Presence of distributed flexural cracks in a member is taken care of by modelling it as non-prismatic. Plasticity theory supported by effective stress concept of CDM is applied to describe the post-yield response. Nonlinear quasi-static analysis is carried out on a RC column and a wide two-storey RC frame to verify the formulation. The column is subjected to constant axial load and monotonic lateral load while the frame is subjected to only lateral load. Computed results are compared with those due to experiments or other numerical methods to validate the performance of the formulation and also to highlight the contribution of distributed cracking on global response.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.215-227
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• 2017

A finite element model (FEM) for predicting early-age behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) bridge deck slabs with fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) bars is presented. In this model, the shrinkage profile of concrete accounted for the effect of surrounding conditions including air flow. The results of the model were verified against the experimental test results, published by the authors. The model was verified for cracking pattern, crack width and spacing, and reinforcement strains in the vicinity of the crack using different types and ratios of longitudinal reinforcement. The FEM was able to predict the experimental results within 6 to 10% error. The verified model was utilized to conduct a parametric study investigating the effect of four key parameters including reinforcement spacing, concrete cover, FRP bar type, and concrete compressive strength on the behavior of FRP-RC bridge deck slabs subjected to restrained shrinkage at early-age. It is concluded that a reinforcement ratio of 0.45% carbon FRP (CFRP) can control the early-age crack width and reinforcement strain in CFRP-RC members subjected to restrained shrinkage. Also, the results indicate that changing the bond-slippage characteristics (sand-coated and ribbed bars) or concrete cover had an insignificant effect on the early-age crack behavior of FRP-RC bridge deck slabs subjected to shrinkage. However, reducing bar spacing and concrete strength resulted in a decrease in crack width and reinforcement strain.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.427-435
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• 2010

One of the most vulnerable properties in concrete is tensile cracking, which usually happens at early ages due to hydration heat and shrinkage. In order to accurately predict the early age cracking, it needs to find out how stress-crack opening relation is varying over time. In this study, inverse analyses were performed with the existing experimental data for wedge-splitting tests, and the parameters of the softening curve for the stress-crack opening relation were determined from the best fits of the measured load-CMOD curves. Based on the optimized softening curve, variation of fracture energy over time was first examined, and a model for the stress-crack opening relation at early ages was suggested considering the found feature of the fracture energy. The model was verified by comparisons of the peak loads, CMODs at peak loads, and fracture energies obtained from the experiments and the inverse analysis.